Robert Schlienz (3 February 1924 – 18 June 1995) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He is considered one of the best players ever to play for current

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. He also played three times for his national side. Growing up in Zuffenhausen (it was incorporated into

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

in 1931), his youth club was local FV Zuffenhausen. In 1942, his side won the Junior Championships of the state of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. Late in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was called up into the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

, fighting on the Eastern Front. After being shot into the jaw, he was dismissed and sent back home. In the 1944/45 season, he began playing, initially as a "guest player", for VfB Stuttgart. The war had taken five vital players from FV Zuffenhausen, which left the club unable to compete. Thus, Schlienz joined VfB permanently in the summer of 1945, as the Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt club took part in the newly founded semi-professional Oberliga Süd (South) from October 1945. In 1945–46, Schlienz, playing as centre forward, scored 46 goals in 30 games, becoming the record goal scorer in the Oberliga. But on 14 August 1948, he lost his left forearm (it had to be amputated) in a car accident travelling to a VfB cup match in

Aalen Aalen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Oole'') is a town located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is ...

. Devastated, he thought his career was finished, but his coach, Georg Wurzer, encouraged him to continue his career. Wurzer now positioned him in offensive midfield, as an inside forward, instead of centre forward. Schlienz made his comeback on 5 December 1948, against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. Despite being handicapped, he was now captain and playmaker at VfB Stuttgart, leading the team to win the German Championship twice in 1950 and 1952 (runner-up in 1953, losing to

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

) and the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

twice in 1954 and 1958. In 1955 and 1956, he earned three caps for (West) Germany under the famous coach

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West Germany national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

. He ended his career in 1960 and subsequently moved to the village of

Dettenhausen Dettenhausen ( Swabian: ''Deddahausa'') is a municipality in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Dettenhausen is a village in the administrative district (Kreis) of Tübingen, in the Schönbuch Nature Park. It is located 11 ...

, about 20 miles south of Stuttgart, where he died and was buried in 1995. VfB Stuttgart named their reserves stadium in Bad Cannstatt after him almost immediately after his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlienz, Robert 1924 births 1995 deaths VfB Stuttgart players Germany men's international footballers German men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders Association football players with limb difference German Army personnel of World War II Footballers from Stuttgart Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg West German men's footballers